Southern US snow to be followed by freeze-up, more dangerous travel
The Toledo, Ohio, Police Department have released bodycam footage of a rescue where three officers fell through ice covering a frozen pond while trying to save a trapped teenager on Friday, Jan. 18. This footage shows a glimpse of what one of the officers witnessed shortly after his partner fell into the icy water while attempting to extract 17-year-old David Lewis, who had also fallen in. . A total of five people ultimately managed to form a human chain to pull both the officers and the boy free.
Snow and cold will not just be confined to the midwestern and northeastern United States this week. Many communities in the South will also be dealing with snow, slippery travel and a rapid freeze-up.
The Arctic cold front associated with the storm that unloaded disruptive snow across the Midwest is expected to sweep as far south as the Gulf Coast, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards.
Residents of the southern U.S. should dig out their blankets and coats as temperatures are forecast to plummet dramatically behind the front.
After peaking at 60 F on Monday, the temperature will drop into the low to middle 20s in Little Rock, Arkansas, early Tuesday morning.
A state of emergency has been declared in Alabama due to the potential for wintry weather this week.
After the front passes through New Orleans on Tuesday, temperatures could fall to freezing levels that night for the first time since January 2018.
Overnight temperatures are expected to dip near or below freezing from eastern Texas to northern Florida on Tuesday night, including in Mobile, Alabama, and Jacksonville, Florida.
Farther north, temperatures will plunge into the teens in Nashville and the 20s in Atlanta.
On the coldest day, "many locations across this part of the country will be about 10-20 degrees below average," Richards said.
Even more shocking could be the precipitation predicted to move into the area along with the chill.
"Rain along the front has and will continue to change to accumulating snow from central Mississippi to northern and central Alabama, northern Georgia and the western Carolinas into Tuesday," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
"A coating to an inch of snow can fall in Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; and Chattanooga, Tennessee," she said. "Travel can become slippery and treacherous as roads rapidly turn from wet to slushy and icy."
Shelves at grocery stores across Alabama were already running out of some items, such as bread, on Monday as residents stocked up before the storm.
An empty bread shelf in a store northwest of Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo/@l8dydeathstrik3)
Anyone out and about in cars or on foot should travel with extreme caution.
Bridges and overpasses will be the first to turn icy, but all surfaces will become slick as temperatures continue to plummet.
"Northern and western suburbs of Atlanta could even receive a coating to an inch of snow," Richards warned.
Airline delays could ripple throughout the country as Atlanta airports face travel delays due to slick runways and limited visibility.
Those attending pre-Super Bowl festivities will have to remain vigilant of the risk for slippery conditions and any travel disruptions.
While the majority of the accumulating snow in the South is expected from Mississippi to Tennessee and western North Carolina, the rain may end as wet snowflakes across central North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.
"Even where the snow fails to coat roads and sidewalks, any wet areas north of the I-10 corridor can rapidly freeze as the Arctic blast arrives," Pydynowski said.
Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast for your commute or trip before heading out the door.
Winter storms create a unique set of challenges in the Northeast compared to other areas of the country. Great minds often come together to face the challenge. AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Dombek joins WABC New York's Chief Meteorologist, Lee Goldberg to talk about their years of collaboration taking on the big storms.
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